06 December, 2015

This Week In Videogames – 06/12/2015

By
Kyle Shimmin

Award shows and big events, you know the industry’s gotten
weird when both arrive in the same week. Here’s your slightly delayed hit of
videogame news goodness!

The Worst Doctor Ever

Dontnod, developer of this year’s critics’ darling Life is
Strange, and 2013’s totally forgotten Remember Me – oh the irony – shed some
light on their dark new title, Vampyr. Set in 1918 Britain, during the closing
period of the First World War and in the midst of the Spanish Flu epidemic,
you’ll follow Jonathan E. Reid, a surgeon-turned-vampire.

Speaking to Gamespot, narrative director Stéphane Beauverger
described the struggle Reid finds himself in, having awoken from a mysterious
attack and found he’s now a vampire:

“As a doctor, the hero will be asked to save lives, but as a
vampire, he will be driven to take some.”

(Click to enlarge).

Unlike Life is Strange, Vampyr is a traditional non-episodic
game, with an “open level design with a large amount of possibilities in term
of actions and consequences”. Vampyr will be published by Focus Home Interactive
on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, but it won’t be launching until 2017.

Oh This Isn’t Out Yet?

Harmonix’s Amplitude reboot called simply, Amplitude,
finally got a firm release date of January 5th 2016, it was launched
as a Kickstarter project back in May 2014. Full disclosure, I backed this
project, though completely forgot that I had, which actually isn’t commentary
on the regularity of Harmonix’s backer updates! Catch the launch trailer below.

Anarchy In My Pants

Star Wars: The Old Republic players were hit with a salvo of
small but pleasing announcements, at least for subscribers like myself. Chapter
X Anarchy In Paradise of the Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion will launch
February 11th, with future chapters coming each month. There is a
two-day early access period for each chapter, for players who are subscribed at
the beginning of the each month. The new chapter will allow you to unlock
another companion, with second tied to an Alliance activity by the sounds of
it, their identities were revealed, but I won’t spoil them here. The chapter
will be accompanied by changes to the crafting system that should improve the
solo-player’s crafting experience.

Being a subscriber on January 11th will net players
the companion HK-55 when Chapter X launches in February. Subscribing from
January 11th to August 1st will unlock a bonus chapter in
which you play as HK-55, a dynamic that sounds insane for The Old Republic,
given its previously rigid MMO limitations.

Don’t Toy With My Emotions

Following fourteen long years of silence or perhaps more
accurately indifference – there was that 2012 browser game – the word
‘Onimusha’ has been uttered with hope once more. Part of me thought this day
would never come, and if I’m honest, it still might not. Regardless NeoGAF’s
Miku dug up some exciting trademark news, in Japan publisher Capcom filed a
trademark for Onimusha. There’s really not much else to say beyond that, but
hey, I can have hope right? I’d love a current-generation re-release, or even
access through the PS2 emulation we mentioned last week. Hell, I’d even play
another Blade Warriors…

It’s All In The Thighs

Nintendo and Atlus dropped some totally sick and entirely
Japanese trailers for their upcoming collaboration, Genei Ibun Roku #FE, this
week. It’s the Shin Megami Tensai cross Fire Emblem game, which looks like an
Atlus-style RPG, with Fire Emblem-styled characters and singing? Not speaking a
lick of Japanese I can’t tell you a word of what is said in either trailer, but
I can say with confidence the first features a ripped shirtless dude and a
unicorn boob-lady, and there’s anime guy wearing ribbed thigh-high boots in the
second – so it’s probably going to be
the best game ever made.

Introduction Trailer

Yashiro Tsurugi Trailer

The game is set to launch on the Wii U December 26th, in
Japan, sometime in 2016 in Europe and North America. Gematsu, linked below, as
a handful of images too.

Legally Enforced Holiday

The Game Awards struck Thursday evening with a smattering of
announcements, and of course a cavalcade of awards for games and creator’s
alike. But unfortunately, it’s a far more negative point that I want to draw
attention to. Geoff Keighley, industry veteran and producer of the show, took
to the microphone to explain why Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima was
unable to attend the show and receive Metal Gear Solid V’s award; Konami
wouldn’t allow it.

“Mr. Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight but
unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently
that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight’s awards ceremony to accept
any awards. He’s still under an employment contract and it’s disappointing, and
it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come
here and celebrate with his peers and his fellow teammates.”

Kojima and Konami have been reportedly butting heads for
months now, with some reports suggesting Kojima had left the company in
October, however Konami claims he’s just on holiday. While not commenting
directly, Kojima did Tweet the following after the subsequent uproar.

PSX Is My Favourite Console

The apparently annual PlayStation Experience event kicked
off this weekend, much like The Game Awards it brought a host of trailers and announcements,
here are my hot picks.

First up we have the gorgeous Final Fantasy VII remake
trailer, which is more than just a teaser as it shows of action-y gameplay and
voice acting, which I’m led to believe wasn’t the case in the original. Not to
mention Square Enix’s trademark, crevice shimmying technology.

Well into its second year and Destiny is finally getting a second mount! Well it’s a different model at least, but it is still a Sparrow. Come December 8th Destiny players will be able to race for real on Venus and Mars.

Speaking of Destiny and the people who made it, HighWire
Games, the studio founded by ex-Bungie staff including composer Marty O’Donnell,
announced their first game called simply Golem. It’s “in development or
PlayStation VR”, but that doesn’t sound like true exclusivity to me.

Oh Keep Lunging

I just couldn’t get enough of those marginally erotic,
exceedingly Japanese trailers, and so we’ll close out on yet more of that. Get
ready for a screen full of synchronised, muscle rippling Machoke, flexing for
you pleasure. The furniture moving is just for effect obviously…

Perhaps not so surprisingly, this came from the official
Pokémon Company channel, thanks Destructoid for catching whiff of this magic!